The Bank of England’s chief foreign exchange dealer was sacked for “at least
20 breaches” of protocol, Mark Carney has revealed.
The central bank governor said Martin Mallett, who was dismissed last
December, violated the Bank’s IT policy, Bank confidentiality by sharing a
document with “market participants”, used inappropriate language and
inappropriate attachments in emails.
“Things that could have brought the Bank’s reputation into disrepute,” Mr
Carney told MPs on the Treasury select committee.
The Bank had been under pressure to reveal the reason Mr Mallett was dismissed
24 hours before it published a report on what officials knew about rigging
of the foreign exchange market.
The investigation, led by Lord Grabiner, QC, had found “no evidence to suggest
any Bank official was involved in any unlawful or improper behaviour in the
FX market”, but criticised Mr Mallett for failing to raise suspicions about
questionable behaviour among traders.
The Bank had said at the time of the report that Mr Mallett was dismissed for
“unrelated serious misconduct”.
Andrew Tyrie, chairman of the committee, said the 20 violations appeared a
“shocking number”.
Mr Carney said he was disappointed by the violations, which went back eight
years and were “unrelated to the Grabiner inquiry”.
The governor also revealed to MPs that the Bank has escalated 50 instances of
events that could have been examples of market abuse.
The Bank

Britain’s construction sector unexpectedly bounced back last month, driven by
a resurgence in housebuilding.
The Markit/CIPS purchasing managers’ index (PMI) for construction rose to 60.1
in February from 59.1 a month earlier, its highest level since October. Any
mark above 50 signals growth.
Residential, commercial and civil engineering activity all grew at a quicker
pace in February, with residential again witnessing the strongest rate of
expansion.
Construction companies mostly linked new business gains to improving economic
conditions, but some noted that uncertainties surrounding the forthcoming
general election had resulted in delays to spending decisions among clients.
The construction sector’s better than expected performance comes a day after
it was revealed that the manufacturing industry’s PMI rose to a seven-month
high in February as the

Barclays fell to a loss of almost £200 million after it took a £750 million
charge for foreign exchange manipulation and revauled a portfolio of loans.
The bank maintained its dividend at 6.5p - a move which is likely to
disappoint investors.
The charge for settling multiple foreign exchange investigations around the
world brings Barclays’ total bill to £1.25 billion.
Barclays pulled out of a settlement between six banks and British and American
authorities in November, because it had not reached a deal with New York’s
regulator. It wants to conclude most regulatory settlements together.
Barclays made a £174 million loss in 2014, compared with a £540 million profit
in 2013. Stripping out one-off items, the bank’s profit rose 12 per cent to
£5.5 billion.
The loss was driven by a £935 million writedown on a book of local authority
loans Barclays holds